This invention relates to a carrying device for a storage battery. The device has retractable handles which are integrated into the shape of the battery when they are in the storage position. When the handles are withdrawn and are in the carrying position, arms which extend from the handles along the sides of the battery are guided into position and come into contact with shaped guidance and abutment members located at the upper rim of the battery case.
While in general, bulging reinforcements of the upper case rim, usually provided on the narrow sides of a battery, offer sufficient support to the grasping hand for lifting and transporting lighter batteries, heavy battery cases usually require sturdier and more ponderous carrying devices. The common goal of such carrying devices is to arrange the handles so that when not being used, they are integrated as much as possible into the battery shape. This is desirable because such storage batteries are usually installed in closely confined spaces. The handles thus should take up a minimum of space so that the limited space available does not have to be devoted to accommodating the handles and the storage capacity of the battery need not be impaired.
Typical carrying devices for battery cases according to the above formulation are disclosed in German Gebrauchsmuster No. 77 12 738 and German patent document DE-AS No. 1 246 064. The device disclosed in the first document consists of a U-shaped wire handle having side pieces and a crosspiece connecting both side pieces. The side pieces and the crosspiece are not straight but have bends in them. The side pieces can easily be inserted and withdrawn through the bores of a carrying projection attached to the sidewalls of the battery. After the battery has been placed in the proper location, the bend in the connecting crosspiece is straightened causing the two side pieces to lay against the inside of the bore holes with a certain degree of stress. The handle thus remains more or less fixed. Because the ends of the side pieces are bent at about 90 degrees, the side pieces cannot pass entirely through the bores of the carrying projection when the wire handle is lifted.
The device disclosed in the second document mentioned is a similar wire handle, wherein the side pieces pass through open slots in a carrying projection along the front side of the battery case. The movement of the wire handle is limited by bends in the side pieces coming into contact with upper and lower stops.
There are several disadvantages to these prior art carrying devices. Because of the guidance systems which are used, there is a tendency for the handles to get stuck. This is especially true when the connecting crosspiece, which serves as the handle, pivots obliquely against the plane surface of the rim of the case. Another disadvantage of these prior art devices is that, because they are constructed from relatively thin wires and they support a great weight, they inevitably cut into the hand. A further disdvantage is their susceptibility to acid corrosion.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a carrying device for batteries not having these disadvantages while still having its shape integrated into the battery shape. Such a carrying device should also be easily installable and should be subject to careful guidance when moving back and forth between carrying and resting positions.